St Ita's Primary School Drouin
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50 Victoria Street
Drouin VIC 3818
Subscribe: https://stidrouin.catholic.edu.au/subscribe

Email: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 03 5623 7222

T3 W1 2021 Newsletter

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T3 W1 2021 Newsletter

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St Ita’s Catholic Primary School acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

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    PRINCIPAL MESSAGE 

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    Welcome back to all our St Ita’s families, I hope you have all had a restful break and feel rejuvenated, relaxed and recharged. Term 2 was again different to say the least and I would like to thank all our families for the patience and support you afforded our teaching staff during off site remote learning.

    St Ita’s staff did an amazing job working with your children last term and are prepared for the possibility of more off site learning should the need arise due to Covid-19. If and when this happens, please remember your children are at the core of everything we do and we will make sure we keep them safe and secure whilst under our care.

    This term, our main focus will be on our annual school concert held at the West Gippsland Arts Centre. We have been blessed that Mrs. Jenny Adrichem has stayed on with us to create and present the 2021 school concert but it is a very big secret that involves the making of some amazing animal props with a “Rumble in the Jungle” kind of feel. Stay tuned and we’ll send out more information to each classroom via Class DoJo.

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    A big thank you to all our parents, students and staff who once again, have navigated their way through the unknown waters of a term interrupted by COVID-19. We totally understand the challenges and frustrations that COVID-19 creates in our community but we must also remain open to the fact that at the end of the day, we are about creating safe climates within schools to ensure each person in every learning community is kept as safe as possible. The Health Department and DOSCEL are responsible for setting rules and conditions to make sure we are doing our very best for all in our learning community to limit any outbreaks.

    This term I’m confident that we will be able to make some changes to a few of the current COVID-19 practices and restrictions, so we can start rebuilding a sense of community in our schools by promoting parents getting back, actively involved in the St Ita’s community.

    Depending what happens over the next fortnight, and if we can keep COVID-19 cases to the current number, I’m hopeful that we will be able to initiate the following changes in our school;

    • Run our whole school assemblies every second Friday, inviting parents of children presenting class news and school prayer.
    • Run school tours for all our new foundation enrolments
    • Introduce the class sausage sizzle on the school site for parents to meet their children’s teachers from 11.45-12.45pm. We got through our foundation BBQ earlier this term and it was a huge success. The next BBQ (Date to be advised) will be for our Grade 1 students, parents and siblings.
    • Allow parents the opportunity to participate in Parent Helper Induction and work in a support/helper role in the classroom

    Our car line drop off and pick up will continue as normal at the school admin loop and the Drouin Rec Reserve and we ask that you adhere to a 10 km speed limit.  Please do not park in these areas and walk your children onto the site. Any parents wanting to park and walk their children to the gates at the school site can park in the Church Car park and walk up the ramp to see their children through the gates. 

    One of our greatest challenges working in a COVID-19 environment with no active cases is a mindset of. Its not here in our community so its business as usual. Sadly we can not operate this way. Whist I understand parent frustrations and value their opinions and thoughts on COVID-19, it’s important that parents understand we are expected to follow rules and regulations as set out by our employer DOSCEL and by State Government departments. I thank all parents for their continued support in making sure St Ita's is a safe teaching and learning community and look forward to getting some things back to normal in Term 3.

    COPING WITH STRESS

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    STEP 4. PRACTICE PROBLEM SOLVING

    Over our last 3 newsletters our supplement for parents has outlined The 5 Essential Steps To Help Children Cope with Stress.

    Today we look at step 4. Practice Problem Solving

    Once your child has reframed stress and adopted a growth mindset, they need to learn how to put these ideas into practice by problem-solving. This will likely take many examples, modelling, and real-life experience before it truly takes root.

    You can find a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and strategies for teaching problem-solving here. A good starting point is to teach your child the following three-step process:

    Step One: Naming and Validating Emotions. Ask your child to name how they're feeling—overwhelmed, worried, anxious—and then repeat it back to them. “I understand you’re worried you won’t do well on your exam.”

    Step Two: Processing Emotions. Guide your child to their calming space. If they don't have one, it's a good idea to create it (we recommend the Time-In Toolkit by Generation Mindful). Let them calm their body and process their emotions so they're ready to problem solve, learn, and grow. You may have older children take deep breaths or practice some growth mindset affirmations. “I can do well on this test if I try.” 

    Step Three: Problem Solving! Brainstorm solutions with your child, doing more listening than talking during the conversation. For instance, your child may come up with solutions such as studying with a friend who’s doing well in the class, asking the teacher for extra help, or devoting a certain amount of time to studying each day. 

    Once you’ve brainstormed solutions, help your child think through the positive and negative consequences of each proposed idea and then choose one. Your child may need prompting but aim to contribute only open-ended questions to the conversation, allowing your child to do most of the problem-solving themselves.

    If the initial plan (let’s call it Plan A) doesn’t work, your child will have numerous backup plans ready and waiting. Knowing this will make their problem much less stressful. And once they master the art of problem-solving, they’ll have the tools they need to tackle stressful situations on their own.

    LIBRARY NEWS

    Welcome to Term 3. Please continue to encourage your student to bring their library bag to school for their library lessons. We have many new books they might like to borrow.

    This week we feature two more of our students who were published in the Herald Sun recently. Congratulations to Nate and Taylah!

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    SCHOOL FEES & FEE CONCESSION

    Term 1 & 2 School Fees are now overdue & Term 3 School Fees are due by Friday 6th August. BPay details are available on your school fee statement. School fees are due by the 4th week of each term and must be paid in full by the end of the school year they are due, December 2021.

    If any families would like to pay off their fees either weekly, fortnightly or monthly, please set up a direct debit schedule by completing a Direct Debit Form and returning to the school office at your earliest convenience.  Please calculate the total fees payable by the number of weeks/payments required for your fees to be paid by December 2021. For any assistance please contact the school Admin office via email on: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

    For any families that have recently received a Government means-tested Health Care Concession Card and have not already advised the school office, please forward a copy of your card to the office to check your eligibility, as a fee concession may apply. The card must be in the name of the parent/fee payer for a fee concession to apply with the student details listed on the card.  A CSEF (Camp, Sport & Excursion Fund) form must also be completed. Application forms must be completed each year.

    If your current Health Care Concession Card has expired, or is due to expire and your card is re-issued or any details have changed, please send a copy of your new card details to the office as soon as possible for the concession to be checked and applied to your fees. 

    PARENT ACCESS MODULE (PAM)

    We have had very good feedback with the access of school reports through the new parent portal. Please contact the school if you still have not been able to do this or please follow the instructions on the school website. This portal is accessible via https://pam.stidrouin.catholic.edu.au/

    If parents can please start updating the medical information through this portal that will be great. 

    2022 ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN

    Enrolments are now open and we are now taking bookings for enrolment interviews and school tours. (COVID-19 Dependent).

    If you require an interview and school tour with your child, please contact our school Admin on 5623 7222 as soon as possible to book a time.

    All parents will be required to complete a student questionnaire prior to the commencement of your interview (this takes a couple of minutes and you will receive it on arrival). You will also receive an enrolment pack with an enrolment form enclosed.

    We strongly advise you to book your interview and return your application form promptly to guarantee enrolment for next year.

    OLIVIA’S PLACE FUND RAISER

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    Thanks to all our families for participating in our plain-clothes day fundraiser to help support Olivia’s Place. We raised a fantastic $607.65 to help support their winter appeal.

    Congratulations to Mikaylah Monckton who was the lucky student drawn out to win the SGO Candles and Co. Pamper Hamper.

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    BUS FREE DAYS

    School buses will not be operating in the Drouin network on the following days in Term 3. All bus travellers will need to make alternative arrangements to/from school on these days.

    Term 3 - Monday 16th August 2021.

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    TERM 1 & 2 SCHOOL FEES NOW DUE

    A reminder to parents that all outstanding Term 1 and Term 2 school fees should now be paid. If parents are having difficulty with fee payment please contact our School Admin team on (03) 5623 7222 and they will assist you with a support plan to assist making payment.

    STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

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    Goodluck to the following students who will be representing St Ita's at tomorrow's Gippsland Cross Country event at Lardner Park.

    • Jack Carbonneau
    • Keelie Carbonneau
    • Indi Joiner
    • Marley Nooy
    • Lilly Trimble
    • Tilly Kensley

    FIRST COMMUNION

    Congratulations to the children who made the First Communion at the end of second term. In this photo we have Makaylah Monckton, Taylah Wassenberg, Keelie Carbonneau, Jack Carbonneau, Charlie Ventura, Ebony Seabrook, Sophia Phillips, Emilia Trapnell and Dillon Jagoe
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    PARISH NEWS

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    Not doing - resting!

    Parents empathise with Jesus’ predicament in this gospel from Mark (Mark 6:30-34). Murphy’s law applies that when parents are exhausted and all they want is rest, their children make demands on them. Parents rise to the occasion, as Jesus does when the people want more. Nevertheless, he and we need rest.

    Rest is a good thing! It is not laziness. Hopefully we all have purpose in our lives and spend much time and effort pursuing that: studying, exploring, parenting, making a living and compassionately outreaching to the world.

    Our value though is inherent in us, not a function of what or how much we do. We “do” in response to the needs we prayerfully discern when we spend quiet, reflective time with God. Recharging our batteries.

    God already knows us intimately and isn’t impressed by our crushing workload, our imposing titles, or our remarkable achievements in work and play. What he (she?) does want is quality time with us. Quality time in 2021 might mean no iPhone, no wifi, no 4G, no email, no voicemail, no Facebook or Twitter, no TV – even for a whole day (horror of horrors!), alone with none but our God. If this sounds difficult (as it does for me) then you probably really need it!

    Deep within we crave this time of stepping aside from all our tasks and activities, into a quiet place, quietening our minds, allowing Jesus to nourish us with his life-giving word. Perhaps (and parents know this well) a total rest day is an unattainable luxury at present. Then we need to find other ways and strategies. To build in an early morning and/or a late evening of time in prayer and quiet reflection on the day to come [or the day past] and our place in it with God.

    Deacon Mark Kelly         

     

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    2021 SACRAMENTS 

    An Invitation is extended to our Grade 6 families who wish to have their children continue their journey of initiation into the life of the Catholic Church Community of Warragul & Drouin, through the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. This Sacrament is for children who have celebrated the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Your family will receive an invitation letter with more details via Operro through your school. 

    If you are interested in finding out more about the Sacrament of Confirmation Process please come along to our Parent & Child Information Evenings on Wednesday 21st July at 7.00pm, St Ita’s Church, Drouin or Thursday 22nd July at 7.00pm, St Joseph’s Church, Warragul.

    For more information please contact Thérèse at Parish Office 5623 1642 or on Mobile : 0499 116 428

    RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

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    An Information evening will be held on Wednesday 28th July 7.30pm Marian Room (attached to St. Joseph’s Church Warragul; enter car park from Bowen Street) for those:

    • Who want to find out more about the Catholic faith!
    • What Catholics believe and why?
    • Considering possibly becoming a Catholic!
    • An Adult Catholic who has not received First Communion or Confirmation.

    If you know of someone that may be interested please bring them along to this session.

    For more information you can contact:

    Fr. Peter Slater: 56231642

    Joan Robertson at St. Joseph’s Parish Office, Warragul: 56231642             

    Deacon Mark Kelly at Marist Sion College: 56235944 or 0427748646.

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    Check out our Catholic Parishes of Warragul & Drouin Facebook presence.

    PUBLIC NOTICES

    DRUM AND GUITAR LESSONS

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